Amid jury deliberations Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke listens while attorneys step before Judge Vincent Gaughan bench, as the jury has sent another question to Judge Gaughan, who read it aloud from the bench, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on October 5, 2018. The fate of Van Dyke was handed to a jury on October 4, as the US city braced for a verdict in the controversial case.
October 5, 2018
White US cop convicted of murder for shooting death of black teen
CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — A white Chicago police officer was found guilty of murder Friday for fatally shooting a black teen, in a political-fraught case that left the city bracing for its outcome.
Jason Van Dyke shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014, in an encounter captured on police video that outraged many in the Midwestern city, and led to months of protests and political upheaval.
The 12-person jury reached a verdict just one day after beginning deliberations, choosing to convict him of a lesser second-degree charge, instead of first-degree murder. He was also convicted of 16 counts of aggravated battery, and acquitted of one count of official misconduct.
